Preheat a large pan or stockpot over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pot. Cook the mild or hot Italian sausage and chopped onion until cooked through.

Add the minced garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for one more minute.

Drain most of the grease from the pan, I like to keep at least 1 tablespoon in the pot to go into the soup since it adds a lot of flavor.

Put the seasoned sausage mixture into a large crockpot, be sure to scrape up the bits of sausage from the bottom of the pan you cooked it in and add those to the crockpot also. Add the chicken broth and a can of diced tomatoes. Stir all ingredients together.

Cook the tortellini soup crock pot recipe for 4-5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. 

Add the tortellini, parmesan cheese, and fresh spinach, plus the cream if you're using it. Heat until the tortellini is cooked through.

Garnish with red pepper flakes, more parmesan, and/or fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Enjoy!

Turn your pressure cooker to Saute and heat your pot.

Saute the sausage in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 5 mins, you can drain the sausage after cooking, but be sure to leave at least 1 tablespoon of grease in the pot for cooking the onions and garlic so they won't stick.

Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the cooked Italian sausage and saute for 2 more mins. Stir in the Italian seasoning and mix the seasoning sausage mix together.

Add about a ½ cup of the chicken broth to the instant pot to help scrape up the brown sausage bits from the bottom of the pot. Press Cancel to turn off the Saute function. 

Add the remaining chicken broth, canned tomatoes, and frozen tortellini.

Pressure Cook on High for 1 minute. Some instant pots have this as the Pressure Cook setting and others call it Manual. 

Let the instant pot tortellini soup do a Natural Release for 3 minutes and then do a Quick Release to release the remaining pressure in the pot.

Turn the pot back on Saute. Add in the fresh baby spinach and stir until wilted, which only takes 1-2 minutes. Slowly stir in the parmesan cheese, after it's melted, add the ¾ cup whipping cream. I like to add a little parmesan at a time, wait for it to melt, and then add a little more. This keeps the cheese from clumping or sticking to the pot.

Garnish with red pepper flakes, more parmesan, and/or fresh basil. Enjoy!

1. Preheat a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pot. Cook the sausage for 5 minutes, add the chopped onion, and saute the mixture for 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and Italian seasoning, and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the chicken broth and tomatoes, then turn the heat up to high to bring it to a boil. Once hot, turn the pot down to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the tortellini, spinach, shredded parmesan, and cream if you're using it. Cook just until the tortellini are cooked through and the spinach is wilted, for 3+ depending on whether you're using fresh or frozen tortellini. Garnish and enjoy!